Baton Battle
by The-Fourth-Queen
Summary: CatNoir spends much time spinning his staff in battles. How he achieved that skill? Through years of practice with a cheerleading kid Chloe. When Chloe boasts of her ability and takes out her subtle bad mood on Marinette, Adrien defends her honor. The two blondes engaged in a deadly twirling baton battle. What will be the outcome? Hinted Adrienette; Adrien and Chloe childhood


...

When Adrien entered into the classroom with Nino beside him, he was somewhat surprised over the fact that the entire class was absent while only Alya was in the midst of encouraging a baton-twirling Marinette.

Nino grinned and rushed towards the smiling girl, "Awesome work Marinette!"

Marinette grinned that little shy smile that always came upon her in Adrien's presence. The boy adjusted his bag to the side of him before stepping closer to the group.

Marinette held the baton between her fingers and it flicked at a steady pace. It wasn't difficult, but it required a lot of practice.

"Good afternoon. Nice twirling," Adrien said to Marinette.

The blonde leaned closer to observe her faltering actions but he continued, "You're a natural!"

Perhaps he did find it cute the way she stuttered whenever he addressed her, or even more adorable her flushed cheeks when he complimented her. Although, Adrien was enough of a gentleman to never make her too flustered to the point of embarrassment. His aim would always be to make her at ease around him.

As expected, Marinette became rosy as she stuttered her thanks. Unfortunately, the baton clattered to the ground as Marinette became distracted.

Adrien stooped to retrieve the baton, and handed it to the trembling girl Only then did he notice the polka-dot black on a red background. _A Ladybug themed baton?_

If Plagg wasn't snuggled asleep in his bag, the kwami would have made some comment on that. But Adrien appreciated the silence, and focused on the sweet Marinette instead.

This time, Adrien gave the ebony a sweet smile when he spoke, "Can you try that again?"

"Sure… Adrien…" she squeaked but the girl gripped the baton in a death grip.

Oh boy… That wasn't good… She was doing so well until he showed up! And Adrien knew that if he offered to show her some tips, she wouldn't be able to concentrate. After all, all those staff twirling practice as Cat Noir became pretty useful in baton twirling.

Alya collected the baton from the girl's hands, saving her the embarrassment. The girl explained that the pair of batons was a gift for a little girl in which Marinette babysat.

Adrien grinned, "Is she the same cute little mischief maker that posed with me for my photo shoot?"

Marinette nodded eagerly, "That's her! She didn't cause too much trouble did she? Manon can be very hard to handle… not saying that you can't handle children… just saying that you can't… uh…"

And Marinette grabbed the pair of batons and held it in Adrien's personal space, forcing him to retreat, "Wanna see me twirl? Ha…"

Nino and Alya shared a look, while Marinette only blossomed into a reddening rose. It took most of Adrien's self-restraint to not just reach out and ruffle that girl's hair. She was just too cute! And those pigtails only made it harder. Not to mention that adorable blush that just sold the entire look.

The group was interrupted when a pair of girls made their entrance known. Since it was after lunch, most students would now be returning from their meals. Such was the case of Chloe and Sabrina.

Chloe took one look at the scene before her and launched into her own opinion, "Marinette? Twirl a baton? She can't twirl anything to save her life!"

Sabrina nodded beside Chloe, earning a perfect eye-roll from Adrien.

Honestly, at times he wondered what was the point of diminishing people the way Chloe did. He admitted he realized the importance due to Chloe's family history in politics, but that gave the girl no right to attack her colleagues as such.

"I… uh…" Marinette tried to speak but Adrien knew that with him right beside her, she would falter.

"Come on Chloe, we know you're just jealous!" Alya attempted to defend her shy friend. Marinette smile weakly up at her.

Adrien rose an eyebrow, knowing full well that Chloe was capable of holding her own with the twirling stick.

"Me? Jealous of _her_?" Chloe managed to make it sound as though it were the worst of insults to be made, "Marinette should stay in the kitchen and bake hr little dog biscuits. That's all she's worth – labor!"

A collective gasp sounded the room at that statement, and silence followed. For some reason, they stayed in silence, each observing the others for reactions.

Adrien spoke in a lowered tone, "That's a low blow Chloe,"

"And what can _you_ do about it?" demanded Chloe with head held high.

Adrien blinked twice. Chloe may have been a bit rude to many of his colleagues, but never to him.

And somewhere, at the back of his mind, a tiny voice begged him to hug the girl and ask her what had upset her so. That tiny part of his mind sounded an awful lot like his younger self. But he knew that his actions would only lead to further trouble with the blonde girl.

Chloe turned her nose up at the boy blonde, "As if _you_ can do any better!"

At this point, Adrien was dying to just snap back at her. And to the mixed feelings of his classmates, he retorted his smug answer.

"Actually Chloe… I _can_ do better."

With those words, Adrien grabbed the pole from the floor and in a graceful movement, he spun it around his hand, creating a perfect circle of wind. It messed her hair just in the slightest bit, but Adrien wouldn't have point that out because the girl would freak.

Nino grinned and he fist-pumped the air, "Go Adrien!"

Chloe humphed, and with blue lava in her eyes she commanded Sabrina to fetch the second baton on the floor.

Adrien concealed his smirk. Years of practicing and playing with the batons as children prepared him for this moment. Chloe fancied the cheerleaders while he adored staff fighting; she would often practice with Adrien in their childish games of training. It was one of the enjoyable parts of their childhood.

Chloe began to spin the baton around her wrist, " I can do _anything_ better than _you_."

Adrien couldn't help his smirk as he flipped his baton to the other hand, "No you can't."

"Yes I can."

Chloe's eyes narrowed and her pace increased, "No you can't!"

"Guys!" Marinette shouted, causing both blondes to freeze. Upon Adrien's attention, her voice softened, "This is stupid. What Chloe says doesn't matter,"

"What?" demanded Chloe, teeth grinding in her mouth.

Adrien frowned, and gestured to Chloe, "But she insulted you! I can't let her get away with that!"

Oh how he adored that tint to her cheeks and the way her eyes glimmered up at him. In her eyes, he felt that he could do no wrong, that he could never be a disappointment. So it wasn't a surprise when he felt that overwhelming need to protect her. Such cuteness should not be allowed to be diminished!

Nino jumped in, "Adrien's gotta defend your honor Marinette!"

Adrien bit his smile when the blush took over her face and her eyes fluttered to the floor. He could almost imagine the tongue twisters she would produce in the next moment.

"O...okay…"

 _Good girl Marinette… I won't disappoint you_ … He almost said it- almost… Who knew what the girl would do if she heard him?

Chloe gasped, and her hand barely faltered as she took a step back. Adrien licked his lips. And it was that moment he knew she could not have forgotten their childhood obsessions.

"Afraid of a little competition?" teased Alya with that mischievous grin gracing her face.

Chloe threw her hair behind her, and a faint glimmer shone in her eyes, "Oh please. I was training for this moment my entire childhood!"

Adrien laughed, a free happy laugh, and threw his baton into the air, catching it behind his back before bringing it up back at the front.

Chloe countered by throwing hers into the air and allowing it to spin for at least a dozen seconds. Her smug grin only challenged Adrien to up his game.

The blonde boy took a step back, his vision never leaving Chloe's. And his baton still creating a perfect spin around his hand. It went into the air, for a full minute while Adrien pretended to inspect his nails. He collected his baton just as it spun towards him and allowed it to twirl around his elbows.

Yes it was showing off, but he knew Chloe could take the challenge. Experience showed him that the girl detested losing.

"Ha!" cried Alya with a grin, "Beat that Chloe!"

And in that moment, he saw desperation flash in blue eyes. Just a flicker. He would have missed it if he blinked.

And she was growing tired too. The others wouldn't notice it, but Adrien could. It was just a tiny sign, the fact that a single strand of hair had fallen near her ear and she hadn't bothered to fix it, it meant she was heavily involved.

And that tiny voice at the back of his mind made his rethink his options. What was in it for him if he won? Nothing, he knew he had more practice with the staff than Chloe did. And it just wasn't worth it to see her looking defeated.

So in a perfectly timed moment, Adrien missed his footing, causing a series of chain-reactions to befall him.

Cue his bad luck as his baton flew out of his hand just as his feet slipped from under him. Sure he wanted to make it look like a loss, but this was getting out of hand.

The baton bounced off the ceiling and made a deep dive for the boy's head. He couldn't dodge in time and it made harsh contact with his scalp. The impact pushed him to the ground, and for a mere moment he lay stupefied.

"I win Adrien!" declared Chloe with a gigantic grin that reached her eyes.

And although Adrien pouted, that little voice in his head was pointing out things that made this moment sweeter.

Chloe was troubled earlier that day, but that little challenge softened her mood and now she could relax without worrying for at least another minute. Though she was panting and her hands looked pink, the thrill of a competition brightened her mood to rival their sunshine.

Sabrina giggled and clapped her hands, "Yay Chloe! I knew you were going to win!"

Chloe flipped her hair behind her, "As if there was any doubt."

Nino mumbled something in his throat, but he offered a hand to help Adrien to his feet. Adrien accepted it but not before reaching for the fallen baton. He held it to his chest for a moment and handed it to a quiet Alya.

"I won! I won! I beat Adrien!" sang Chloe, purposely spinning her baton in a moment of boasting.

Marinette completely ignored Chloe but chose to look at Adrien, "Are you hurt?"

And from the corner of his eye, Adrien noticed Chloe's grin falter. She glanced in his direction but did not turn to face him.

Adrien resisted the wince when his hand felt the back of his head. He gave a warm grin and said that he was fine. That wasn't a lie, the pain was only annoying but not hindering. And on that note, Chloe continued to grin.

Marinette gave a huge smile, one that was still accompanied by her ever-present rosiness, "Thanks for defending me Adrien… Even if you didn't win I still think you're cool! I mean… you were… um…"

Adrien chuckled, "Anytime Marinette. Don't worry."

And there was that adorable look again. She was just begging him to snatch her up and cuddle but if he did that, the girl would probably have a heart attack. Right now, he would be satisfied with her smile, the smile that said she knew Adrien had looked out for her.

Then Alya and Nino groaned in collective annoyance when Chloe would not downplay her winnings, but Adrien didn't mind. He may have lost the baton battle, but he held a better winning.

Adrien grinned. Their smiles were worth the loss. His two most important girls in the world, both happy. How could he even think of that as a loss when he gained the best prizes at the end?


End file.
